The Mijikenda Tribe
The nine sub-tribes of Kenya
The Mijikenda tribe are a Kenya coastal Bantu tribe that consists of nine closely related sub-tribes.
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In the past, the Mijikenda tribe was also referred to as the Nyika tribe, a near-derogatory term implying bush people.
The "Mijikenda" literally means nine homes or nine homesteads(in Swahili), pointing to the common ancestry of the Mijikenda people. The nine Mijikenda sub-tribes believe to be nine different homes of the same tribe. Each sub tribe speaks its own dialect of the Mijikenda language.
Among the nine Mijikenda tribes, the Giriama and the Digo are the most well known, most populous and therefore most dominant along the Kenya coast. The other seven sub-tribes are Chonyi, Duruma, Jibana, Kambe, Kauma, Rabai and Ribe. It's very common of other Kenya tribes to refer to all Mijikenda people simply as Giriama.
Mijikenda origin and History
Mijikenda oral history traces their origin to the Southern Somalia regions. It is believed that the Mijikenda people escaped constant attacks from the Oromo and other Cushitic tribes, and settled in the coastal ridges which were easier to defend.
Historically, the Mijikenda have had close interactions with the Persian, Arab, and Portuguese traders who frequented the Kenyan coast, home to the Mijikenda people. This interaction and subsequent intermarriage with the Arabs gave birth to the Swahili culture and the Swahili language. As a result, the Swahili language, Kiswahili bears a close lexical similarity with all dialects of the Mijikenda people.
Culture & Religion
The Mijikenda culture revolves around clans and age-sets. A Mijikenda clan consists of several family groups which have a common patriarchal ancestor. Traditionally, each such clan lived in one fortified village built in a cleared area in the forested ridges. Within the clan, a persons age-set determined their role and standing in society. There were often very elaborate rituals for graduating from one age-set to another.
Each Mijikenda clan had their own sacred place known as kaya, a shrine for prayer, sacrifices and other religious rituals. These kayas were located deep in the forests and it was considered a taboo to cut the trees and vegetation around them. The kaya elders, often members of the oldest age-set, were deemed to posses supernatural powers including ability to make rain.
Like other Kenya tribes, Mijikenda people have today assimilated modern cultural practices, causing the fading of many of their traditional customs. Most Mijikenda people are now either Christians or Muslims. Some however still practice their traditional culture, or a mixture of Christianity or Islam with their traditional religion. Islam is more widespread among the Digo than in the other Mijikenda sub tribes.
The Mijikenda Kaya Forests
Owing to the kaya taboo, the forest regions around the Mijikenda Kayas remained untouched for a long time, thus preserving many rare or endangered plant species. More recently however, people started destroying these kaya forests to make way for agriculture, building and tourism activities. This forced the government and conservation agencies to institute measures for protecting the biological diversity found in these kayas, by declaring them national monuments.
Mijikenda economic activities
Agriculture is the main economic activity of the Mijikenda people. Their most important cash crop is the coconut palm, whose products include its oil extracts, palm wine, and the fronds used for roofing and as material for making baskets, mats, brooms and other weaved products.
Mijikenda tribe coconut tree farm
Other important cash crops include cashew nuts, oranges and mangos. Where favorable weather conditions allow, some Mijikenda people also grow such annual crops as maize, sorghum, millet, and beans.
Fishing is the other important economic activity of the Mijikenda. Mijikenda people actively fish in the neighboring Indian Ocean, where their "daily catch" forms part of the supply of sea food to Kenya coast hotels and residents along the Kenya coast.
Mijikenda Food
The Mijikenda, and more particularly the Digo, are considered some of the best cooks among the Kenya tribes. One Kenya food, a staple of the Mijikenda tribe is wali, that is rice prepared with coconut milk, giving it a sweet taste. Fish and other seafood also form part of Mijikenda cuisine.
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